Anti-Aging Information

Among the most commonly lamented disorders associated with age are "creaking" and painful joints. Most of us have begun to experience at least a little pain after exercise, especially if we haven't stretched properly beforehand, if we haven't exercised for a while, or if we tend to overdo it. To exacerbate the problem, some old athletic injuries can return to try to rob us of physical prowess, our sense of well-being, and even sleep.

There are many causes of joint pain and disability. Some are avoidableeven self-inflicted. Others come to us in spite of our best efforts. Often, we can do something about joint disorders, either through exercise and stretching or with medical treatment. Arthritisa painful swelling and inflammation of any of the joints in our bodycan occur at any age. Disorders of our joints can produce pain, stiffness, swelling, redness, and increased warmth or lead to limited range of motion. Arthritis in one or more of our joints may be due to a systemic (whole body) illness such as one of sever forms of arthritis.

Arthritis can be caused by hemorrhage into a joint, as in hemophilia; by trauma, or from sepsis, due to several not-so-rare bacterial or fungal infections; or by the crystal-induced affliction of gout. Some forms of arthritis are acute and self-limiting, whereas others are chronic. The crucial message is that both the acute and chronic varieties can lead to joint destruction unless properly treated.

There are many ways the inflammation of arthritis can affect your joints. It may hit the small distal (end) joints of your fingers, as in osteoarthritis. More than 40 million Americans (85 percent over age 70) have evidence of osteoarthritis, a chronic form of arthritis that can be easily detected by X ray and exam.

Arthritis may involve the proximal joints of the hand and the covering (synovia) around the wrists, as in rheumatoid arthritis. It may be symmetrical, affecting both sides of the body equally, as in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. It may be migratory, as in rheumatic fever, which is usually associated with the signs and symptoms of an acute febrile illness such as Group A strep throat. Rheumatic fever usually affects two or more joints at any one time. Fortunately, rheumatic fever is easily treated and should only be suspected when your throat hurts more than it should, your breath smells fetid, you might be covered with a coalescent (scarlatina form) rash, and you have some funky joint inflammation.